


Save Me a Place

by sherlockelly



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Established Relationship Inviting a Third, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Sibling Incest, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-19
Updated: 2015-09-19
Packaged: 2018-04-20 19:50:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4800134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sherlockelly/pseuds/sherlockelly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tyler doesn’t get crushes; Tyler falls in love. Head over heels, smack you in the face, spin you around <i>love</i>. The difference with Jamie and Jordie is that he doesn’t just have a crush on one or the other. There’s no real way to choose between the two anyhow, but even if he could, Tyler’s feelings for them aren’t distinct. He loves <i>the Benns</i>—the pair, the set—and that makes everything so much more complicated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Save Me a Place

**Author's Note:**

  * For [gigantic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gigantic/gifts).



> The working summary for this was "Tyler catches the Benns pretending to be a couple to pick up guys." Throw in a side of "and he really, really wants to get in on that—with _feelings_ " and you've got yourself this story. 
> 
> gigantic: I had such a hard time deciding what I wanted to write for this exchange because I wanted to write you EVERYTHING you asked for! I really hope that you enjoy this!

Tyler’s noticed the Benns’ weird codependency thing— _everyone_ has. Sometimes he wonders if he’s more in tune with it because he’s basically been living out of their pockets since he arrived in Dallas, but it’s not a well-kept secret or anything. Apparently they’ve been like that since before he was there, and he’s quickly realizing they’ll probably still be like that long after he’s gone. 

They get adjoining rooms on road trips, the connecting doors always open into each other’s space. They sit next to each other at every team function and party. They laugh at the same jokes, wear the same clothes, order the same foods, drink the same beer. For all intents and purposes, they’re carbon copies of one another—aside from the little thing where they look next to nothing alike, but that’s obviously just some cosmic fluke because the Benn brothers were clearly meant to be twins. 

They’d even told Tyler once about tattoos they’ve been wanting to get, showing him the design and everything. The ‘brothers forever’ was kind of dorky, but Tyler didn’t expect anything less from them.

“So why don’t you?” It wasn’t like they weren’t already pretty well inked—not like Tyler was, but getting there. 

“Well,” Jamie had gotten apprehensive and squirrelly about it, scratching the back of his neck and frowning. 

“Or not,” Tyler held his hands up to backtrack. 

“It’s not that. We just don’t want to yet.” Jordie answered for the both of them—they do that sometimes, too—and Tyler takes him at his word. 

For as similar as they are though, he would be loath to think of them as an indivisible unit. Because Jamie is Jamie; he’s soft and considerate and embarrassingly bad at chirping, despite the fact his jokes are usually hysterical. And Jordie is Jordie; he’s brash and obnoxious and loud and he can keep up with Tyler when they’re trading barbs or pounding shots. 

Separately, they’re his friends—each bringing out a side of Tyler he hadn’t known he possessed. He doesn’t feel like he’s playing house anymore, trying to be a version of an adult he was decades away from actually being. He fits in here, and it’s okay if he can’t work the laundry machine because Jamie can’t either. And it’s cool if he eats the same thing three days in a row because Jordie’s the one who made that much spaghetti in the first place. Separately, they’re his bros, and Tyler loves that. 

But together…

Things get more confusing when they’re together. 

Tyler doesn’t get crushes. He calls it that occasionally, when he’s not sure the person he’s explaining things to will understand, but Tyler doesn’t get crushes. Tyler falls in love. Head over heels, smack you in the face, spin you around _love_. And he falls hard and he falls fast and he falls often. 

The difference with Jamie and Jordie is that it’s not separate. He doesn’t just have a crush on one or the other. There’s no real way to choose between the two anyhow, but even if he could, Tyler’s feelings for them aren’t distinct. He loves _the Benns_ —the pair, the set—and that makes everything so much more complicated. 

They share a lot, the list almost endless. But even knowing how flimsy their boundaries with one another are, Tyler still doesn’t think the Benns would be willing to share something like a partner. _Him_ , specifically. There’s stuff that he wants that there’s no polite way to ask for, and that sucks, because Tyler isn’t willing to choose between them, and he definitely isn’t looking to be the wedge that drives them apart. 

So he resolves himself to suffer through this spell of feelings, and he gets his fill of the Benns through osmosis, carving out a spot for himself in their lives and a divot for his ass in their couch, and basking in the time that he does have with them. And it’s good time. He gets to see a private side to them that others don’t. 

Jamie is more relaxed at home than he is at the rink—even when it’s just in front of the guys; and Jordie isn’t quite so guarded about being the big softy that he really is. They bicker about the littlest things, but always with a smile. 

“I mean, I’m right, aren’t I Tyler?” Jamie turns to him for back up, including him in their sibling banter. “It’s too loose on him!” Tyler assesses Jordie, wearing one of Jamie’s new t-shirts with his arms outstretched. 

“I think it looks good!” Jordie tugs on the hem. “Better on me than you.” 

Tyler hems and haws for a moment. “It does seem like the kind of thing that should be more… _form-fitting_ ,” he tries. 

“Oh, _man_! You too?” Jordie huffs in exasperation. “Fine, whatever.” He peels it off and chucks it at Jamie’s head, laughing when it covers him. “This form-fitting enough for the two of you?” He spends the rest of the afternoon shirtless, but Tyler really doesn’t mind. 

Sometimes they get a little more physical, wrestling over the last beer or the Player A controller. Tyler’s job then is just to move furniture out of the way, watch for wayward limbs.

The most intimate moments are the times they carry on without even acknowledging he’s there. He knows they see him, but he’s hovering in their periphery. 

“I’m going to grow a beard too, I think,” Jamie rubs at the patches of hair—like rust streaks from the corners of his mouth. He doesn’t phrase it like a question, but Tyler can hear the plea for approval in it. Jordie gives him a skeptical look that makes Jamie wilt a little. “What? You think I can’t?”

“It would take a long time,” Jordie says delicately. “But mostly I think you would look weird with one.” Jordie holds Jamie’s chin in his hand and tilts him from left to right in quiet consideration. 

“Weird?” 

“You just wouldn’t look like Jamie anymore.” 

“No?”

Jordie shakes his head and clears his throat, eyes flickering over to Tyler so quickly it almost seems like an accident. “Besides,” he drops his voice to the cadence he uses when he’s sweet talking Marshall. “I like you baby-faced.” Jamie scowls and shoves him off. 

“Fine.” A pause, and then under his breath:“ _You_ look weird.” 

Tyler ends up having to pull the coffee table out of the way when they take the disagreement to the floor. 

He’s never seen them _fight_ , the kind with real hurt feelings and bruised egos, but he knows they do. When Jordie shows up at his door alone one afternoon, downtrodden with a wounded expression, Tyler instantly fears the worse. 

“Can I hang out here for a while? Jamie needs some space and shit, so.” He sulks around Tyler’s living room and cuddles on the floor with Marshall before he’s suddenly spilling his guts everywhere. 

“It’s so fuckin’ stupid, ugh! Why does he insist on getting stressed out about shit he can’t control? He’d be so much happier if he let it roll off his back. Why’s he even reading that crap anyway? None of those guys have ever even played the game, but he cares more about what they say about him than what I do?” Jordie’s flat on his back on the floor, shouting at the ceiling. “He’s such an idiot sometimes!” 

Tyler doesn’t think he’s supposed to say anything, so he doesn’t. 

“I’ve been telling him this since he was sixteen, dude! You’d think he’d have heard me at least once all these years, but nope! In one ear and out the other with him. Then he wants to get in my face about how I don’t care _enough_? Fuck that.” 

He hears Jordie suck in a wet breath, a waver in his voice that makes Tyler’s chest ache. He nudges his foot forward until he’s bumping Jordie’s shoulder. 

“I just want him to hear me. I love him, you know?” He swallows loud. “He’s my brother.” 

Jamie takes longer to come around when he’s upset, but he still shows up at Tyler’s by himself from time to time, like a hurricane of fury. He kicks his shoes off too hard, slams his phone down on the couch hard enough it jumps off and lands on the floor. He digs his fingers into the remote control buttons like it’s personally offended him.

“Stop looking at me like that, nothing’s wrong,” he practically spits. 

“I didn’t say anything.” 

“You’re thinking it.” Jamie rakes a hand through his hair hard enough Tyler winces for him. “Fuck it, fine, whatever. You want to know what’s wrong? He acts like everything is a big joke sometimes! I’m trying to talk to him about something serious and he’s just—like if he makes me laugh that’s going to fix everything. And then if I do laugh, he’s all smug like ‘problem solved.’ I can’t stand it! Not everything has to be funny!” 

He doesn’t have to say who he’s talking about for Tyler to know. 

“How am I supposed to tell him anything that really matters if he’s going to dismiss it?”

Tyler wonders sometimes who the Benns talked to before he got here, when their feelings were really hurt. If maybe they just stewed in it until they missed each other too much. Jamie looks at him expectantly. He isn’t like Jordie; he likes for Tyler to talk to him. 

“I don’t think he means to dismiss it. He doesn’t like seeing you upset. He tries to make you laugh because sometimes that’s the only way he knows how to help.” Tyler knows this because Jordie has told him. 

“That’s dumb. He helps in lots of ways,” Jamie is still talking too loud for the room, but it’s more considering. “Like, just fucking listening to me instead of goofing around! That’s helping!” 

“Did you tell him that? Did you tell him, ‘Jordie, I just want you to listen right now’?” 

“No, but he’s supposed to know that! He always knows that stuff!” Tyler shuffles closer to where Jamie’s having his tantrum. 

“Jamie. Jordie loves you. He tells me so all the time. If you told him what you need from him, he’d give it to you. You know that, don’t you?”

“Yes,” he sounds like a petulant child to admit it. 

“He’s a wonderful brother, but he’s not a mind reader.” 

Jamie swallows hard. “When’d you get so smart anyway?” 

“I just pay attention,” he admits after a while. 

When he’s done being so furious, Jamie rests his head on Tyler’s shoulder. It feels nice, but it also strangely feels like an entire limb is missing. Tyler shuffles back to the safe end of the couch when it gets to be too much. 

He knows they’ll make up. They always do.

/ / /

The Benns disappear sometimes when the team goes out together on the road. It’s not every night, and it’s not every city, but it’s often enough that Tyler notices. Sometimes the other guys do too; Tyler’s the one they ask about it.

“The boys take off?” Fids digs an elbow into Tyler’s side and looks around for Jamie or Jordie, but Tyler watched the two of them duck out unannounced a half-hour ago. 

“I don’t know. Maybe,” Tyler lies. 

“And here I thought I was supposed to be the old man on this team,” he clucks his tongue.

The thing is, Tyler is pretty sure they don’t go back to the hotel. They’d stealthily abandoned the team one night when Tyler wasn’t feeling too hot in the first place. He was looking to chill somewhere a little quieter, and after a catching a cab back, he’d knocked on both Benns’ doors and got no answer. 

He was all prepared to give them hell about it the next morning, but the second he’d starting playfully laying into them for ditching, Jamie clammed up. 

“Don’t mind him. Benny’s just embarrassed because was really drunk,” Jordie cut in. “He passed right the fuck out. And I was too lazy to get up.” Tyler had no reason not to believe him, but he never felt like it had been the whole truth. 

After that, he tries to catch them before they bounce. He thinks he’s got them totally hemmed in one night in Nashville when he spots Jamie tugging at where Jordie’s seated on his coat. 

Jordie looks down at the sleeve under his ass and rolls to the side to free it. “Yeah?” Jamie nods at him. “Cool. Gimme a sec.” 

Tyler downs the rest of his drink so he can be ready to tag along, but Jamie’s watching him when he glances back. He’s frozen, one arm in his sleeve. Jordie starts pushing his chair back and Jamie stops him with a hand on his chest. 

“Cold in here, huh?” He’s asking Tyler as he stiffly pulls his jacket on the rest of the way. Jordie sits back down.

“Sure,” Tyler shrugs. It’s really not. 

They don’t end up leaving, so Tyler orders another drink. 

The same thing happens the next few times he catches them trying to slip away. One of the Benns will spot him watching and casually play off their planned departure as getting air or hitting the bathroom. But Tyler isn’t stupid, and they aren’t either. He knows they know he’s not buying it. 

What he doesn’t know is how long they’re going to keep up the charade. They must be tired of it too, Tyler interfering with their top-secret brotherly plans. And apparently going-on-four weeks is their limit because when the Stars are out celebrating after a close win in San Jose, Jamie pulls Tyler aside. 

“I’m just letting you know, Jordie and I are going to take off,” he leans in close and even though the music is loud, he lowers his voice to speak directly into Tyler’s ear. 

“Oh yeah?” He fights to hide his surprise that Jamie’s actually telling him. 

“Yeah. So we’ll see you tomorrow at breakfast?” 

“If you’re headed back, I’ll come with,” Tyler downs the rest of his beer and stands up, sending the bar stool skittering back. “Place is kind of dead tonight anyway.”

“Oh, no. Well,” Jamie scratches his elbow and looks over his shoulder. Jordie’s hovering out of earshot, fiddling with his phone. “There was this place Jord wanted to go last time we were here and, I kind of promised we’d check it out this time around.”

“That sounds cool, too. I don’t mind.” 

“Umm,” Jamie shrugs his shoulders like he’s about to say no, but Jordie appears behind him. Tyler swears they can read each other’s mind. The two of them have a silent conversation with their eyes that feels too intimate to even spy on. It’s so oddly exposing, standing before them, waiting for a verdict.

He’s ready to tell them to forget it, never mind the request, but Jordie speaks up before he can. 

“You could come, I guess.” 

Tyler knows the Benns pretty well. He’s been welcomed into their lives with open arms and they’ve already shared more with him than he gets the impression they ever have with anyone else, but he doesn’t know how to feel about having a whole new door opened him. This is something they’ve been unmistakably cagey about, and now he’s being invited to share it. 

Jamie and Jordie walk shoulder to shoulder a step in front of him, talking quietly enough Tyler can’t make out more than the hushed sounds of it. He gives them the space, trailing behind at a comfortable distance. 

It’s hard not to be nervous. They’re acting tense and still haven’t told him where they’re going. Tyler’s mind wanders with possible scenarios as they stroll down the unfamiliar sidewalks: buying drugs, casing a place to rob, looking for prostitutes. He shakes his head at the unlikelihood of each but comes of short of anything plausible.

They stop abruptly, and Tyler’s so distracted he walks right into the back of them. 

“So, this is it,” Jordie nods at the building and turns to Tyler expectantly. 

Even Tyler’s best guesses seem enormously off when he takes in the populated, well-lit row of noisy clubs and restaurants they’re standing in the midst of. He looks up at the bar, not all that different from the one they’d just left: neon signs advertising beers on tap, flyers for events like happy hour and ladies’ night. 

“So, do they have good drinks or something?” 

Jamie gives a friendly scoff and claps him on the shoulder, heading for the entrance. 

“You’re cute, Segs,” Jordie shakes his head, just as dismissively. The words make Tyler’s insides flutter, but he’s still not any closer to understanding what they’re doing here and why it was such a big deal they’d have to sneak off instead of just inviting the team. 

He jogs to catch up with them, giving Jamie a nod when he holds the door for both of them. 

The inside is a lot more packed than the outside had made it seem. The music thrums and vibrates in Tyler’s chest, each bass note thumping up through the soles of his feet. The bar is long and curved across an entire side of the room, patrons crowded around in thick masses. 

Jamie and Jordie elbow the way toward it, clearing a path for Tyler to trot behind them. He’s stopped for a moment when someone touches his arm to get his attention. 

“Hey,” the guy starts. Tyler isn’t recognized that often in the Bay Area, but it seems like no matter what city they’re in—hockey community or not—there’s always that one guy. “What’s your name?” 

“Uh.” The question throws him for a loop though, and he’s not sure he heard correctly. Tyler looks back over his shoulder to where Jamie’s talking to the bartender, Jordie hanging back, scanning the room. He turns to the man is still cupping his elbow and leans in a little closer. “I’m sorry, what?” 

“I said, ‘What’s your name’? First time here?” 

“I’m, um, Tyler. Just visiting, I guess.” He doesn’t want to be rude, but he also doesn’t want to lose Jamie and Jordie either. “Excuse me, but my friends.” He points vaguely behind him and extricates his arm from the hold. 

Jordie flashes with relief when Tyler pops up beside them again. “I figured you’d be getting some attention,” it’s a fond chuckle. 

This close to the bar, Tyler finally starts to notice the flags hanging on the back wall. “This is a _gay_ bar,” he blurts, immediately feeling his cheeks go hot. 

Jamie turns around with three drinks in hand and Jordie helps himself to two, passing one to Tyler.

“It is,” Jordie sounds guarded. “You can go if you’d like.” 

“No! Hey, no. This is cool with me, like. I don’t care if you’re into guys or whatever. I, you know, _also_. Sometimes.” When Tyler falls in love it’s hard, fast, often. And indiscriminate.

They’re both looking at him with raised eyebrows. Tyler takes a few huge gulps of the beer to cover his nerves. 

“Is that right?” Jordie doesn’t sound shocked or anything but Tyler can tell he wasn’t expecting that admission. But if he can’t tell them that here, in the middle of damned gay bar, he doesn’t know when might be a better occasion. 

“Time to time,” he mumbles only loud enough to be heard over the music. Lately he’s really only been into the Benns, but he plays that one closer to the chest. “So Jamie said you wanted to come here?” 

“Did he now,” Jordie gives his brother a smile and Jamie goes pink. 

“Yeah. He said he promised you last time we were in town.” 

“Promises were made, yes,” he grins cryptically. “I don’t quite remember it like that, but.” 

Tyler isn’t going to ask, but Jamie offers the clarification anyway. “Fine, maybe I wanted to check it out, too.” He shoots Jordie a look. “You’ve got no tact, man.” 

So Jamie’s into guys too. Tyler doesn’t know why he expected anything different. Where goes one, the other follows. Except apparently…

“We’re gonna split up,” Jordie nods toward the room, already surveying crowd. “I’ll text when I take off. Don’t wait up.” He winks at Tyler and claps Jamie on the shoulder. 

“ _If_ you take off,” Jamie cocks his hip but offers his glass to cheers when Jordie does, the two of them headed separate ways with no more fanfare. 

And like that, Tyler’s left by himself. It makes sense to split if they’re looking to pick up, so Tyler’s cool with that part. He was the one who’d invited himself along, after all. But there’s an unsettled churning in his stomach watching the two of them disappear to flirt with guys who aren’t him. 

He wasn’t really planning on going home with anyone tonight, but if the Benns are, he’d rather find some company too. It’s the better alternative to feeling sorry for himself while the two guys he’s in love with make out with someone else. 

He does allow himself the rest of his beer to mope though, ordering a jack and Coke when he’s down to the dregs. From his perch at the bar, he spots Jordie across the room, not easy to miss with that beard, even in the sporadic flashes of strobe light. He’s already standing close with one guy, chatting up another at the same time. 

He laughs at something one of them says, hand reaching to touch the small of the taller man’s back. It’s proprietary, flirtatious. 

The shorter guy is facing Tyler, so he can actually make out some of his features. He’s bare-faced, younger than Jordie, and when he reaches up to run a hand through his hair, Tyler can see the half-sleeve running down his forearm.

He’s definitely attractive—even through his jealousy Tyler can admit it—but he’s not actually surprised Jordie can pull guys who look like that. _Two_ , apparently, he scoffs to himself. Jamie’s probably having just as much luck wherever he is. It’s deflating; Tyler would give the world to have Jordie to look at him like that, soft and promising. Jamie, too. He’s probably got the same indulgent smile, just a little shyer than his brother, but intimate all the same. 

Jordie walks his fingers up the other man’s back, cupping his neck and pressing a thumb into the muscle there. Tyler bets that feels good; Jordie’s really talented at massages. He’s been lucky enough to be on the other end of one a few times. He knows all the right spots to push to spring goosebumps along Tyler’s arms. 

Eventually—and he’s not even sure how long he’s been staring at them—all three of them start making their way to the exit. Tyler gets his first good glimpse of the trio when they pass the bright neon signs. 

“Oh, _fuck_.” He feels like he just got socked in the gut. Jordie’s still got a hand possessively on both of them—the shorter, young looking kid. And Jamie. 

Tyler is frozen to his barstool watching the entrance doors swing open and shut, all three disappearing back onto the street. 

His throat feels dry but the carbonation and alcohol burn when he chugs the rest of his drink. They must have just wanted to shake him or something. Jordie met someone and Jamie didn’t feel like sticking around? Or vice versa. 

Tyler should just text them and give them what for is what he should do—tell them they’re dicks for ditching team twice in one night. His phone buzzes in his pocket before he can even work up enough frustration to want to swear at them. 

**Jordie:** see you suckers tomorrow morning ;) 

It’s a group text, to him and Jamie. Which… Jamie already knew Jordie was leaving so… Tyler blinks at the screen, because there is no way what the dark recesses of his brain are thinking is happening is actually happening. 

**Jamie:** Took you long enough. I left 15 minutes ago!

They obviously don’t want you to know they left together, the tiny voice in his head insists, a gleeful lilt to it. Tyler’s heart is racing and his chest feels tight. 

**Tyler:** ok

He waits around about another fifteen minutes before taking off himself.

/ / /

**Jordie:** breakfast?

The ping wakes Tyler up from his doze. He’d spent most of the night hopped up on the adrenaline of an idea he can’t even bring himself to name in his head. Instead he’d tried to think about the things he’d actually seen: Jordie with his hand on Jamie’s back, touching his neck. The both of them chatting up a guy who looked…not like Tyler, but not _unlike_ him either. 

He’s not pleased to discover a rather insistent morning boner. It’s not something he can take care of without risking his mind straying to places that he’s unsure of. The Benns sharing him is one thing—he’s made peace with wanting that. The other part, the part where he thinks about having them separately _and_ together… where he _wants_ that. Some things are better left to the triumphant little voice.

 **Tyler:** sure  
**Tyler:** jamie?

 **Jamie:** Definitely!! Meet us in my room in 5?

 _Us._ Tyler’s dick twitches with a mind of its own. 

**Tyler:** i’m gonna need more like 15

 **Jordie:** take your time

/ / /

_They’ve already got him stripped, spread out on his back on Jamie’s bed. They’re nude too—not quite mirror images of each other, but they touch him the same way: delicate and purposeful._

_Jordie’s the one who would touch him first, rubbing down Tyler’s thigh to his knee and then back up, grabbing his cock in one wide hand. Tyler bucks into it, but Jamie holds him down._

_He’s so distracted by the four hands on him, he misses the way they lean into each other. It isn’t until Jordie stops stroking and lets go that Tyler looks down to see what they’re doing._

He pulls his hand away from his cock and sits with the feeling for a moment, letting the tension abate for a bit. 

_Tyler watches Jordie wrap his hand around Jamie’s wrist, drag him lower and wrap his fingers around Tyler’s straining cock. They jerk him off in tandem, but they’re not even looking at him. It’s an eternity watching them inch closer._

_Finally,_ finally, _their mouths meet in a furious release of passion of desperation and…_

Tyler shoots off all over his chest with a broken groan, both of his fists wrapped tight around his own cock. His face burns to the tips of his ears, and he can’t meet his own eyes in the mirror when he swipes for a tissue to clean up. 

He’s definitely hungry for breakfast now, though.

/ / /

It isn’t that Tyler has forgotten about the night in San Jose, it’s just that he’s not thinking about it 24/7 anymore. At first, it was a constant battle—trying to imagine all of the scenarios in which what he saw could have been anything other than what it looked like, and more indulgently, all of the ways it could be everything he’s imagined. In the two weeks since, he’s gotten good mileage out of his go-to fantasy.

But, Jamie and Jordie haven’t disappeared on a team outing since then. Part of him wonders if it’s his fault, if they regret ever letting him tag along. It hasn’t come up in conversation, and Tyler isn’t about to bring it up himself, but it’s hard not to worry. 

He keeps one eye on them but keeps his distance at the same time. Eventually, they’re in Columbus when it starts looking like they might be trying to duck out. Jamie’s eyeing the front door and Tyler definitely sees him nudge Jordie in the ribs. 

Tyler intercepts. 

“Are you guys going out?” He asks quietly, politely—tries to keep his face even. 

“We were, uh. We were thinking about it, yeah.” Jordie scratches idly at his beard. 

“Could I come with?” 

Jamie chews on his lip and glances at his brother. “Um, yeah. That would be fine.” 

The place is a little smaller than the club they’d gone to last time, but it’s just as busy. This time Tyler knows the drill: head to the bar and then split up. He keeps an eye on them this time—Jamie in particular. 

He makes a round of the room, eventually meeting up with Jordie in the middle. They have a quick conversation before doubling back the way Jamie came—arm in arm. 

The guy they approach is slim but muscular, and he gives them both his full attention immediately. Tyler can only imagine what they’re talking about from this far, but he gets a bit of an idea when Jamie steps in closer to his brother and twines an arm around his waist. His fingers toy with opening to Jordie’s front pocket. 

There’s nothing familial about the way he’s touching, the way he’s watching Jordie’s mouth move as he talks to the blond. It’s on his slow sweep back to the guy that he catches Tyler’s eye, face draining of color instantly. 

He can’t play it off like hasn’t been watching, so Tyler doesn’t even try. Jamie pulls his arm back slowly, dragging along Jordie’s hip and back until he’s tucking both hands into his back pockets. He’s the one to break their stare first, a thousand yard stare into the floor. 

Jordie doesn’t notice; Tyler sees him give Jamie an adoring smile, leaning down to whisper something in his ear and press a soft kiss to his cheek. 

It’s too much and he feels guilty for putting that expression on Jamie’s face. It’s enough to make Tyler look elsewhere until his drink is gone, and he spares one last glance while waiting for his refill. 

They’re already gone. 

**Jamie:** We’re taking off. See you tomorrow.

/ / /

Tyler is convinced he’s fucked it up. They probably won’t even talk to him anymore, let alone ask him to come over and hang out. But he’s also worried if he gives them the space, they’ll seize on it. Maybe even replace him.

So Tyler gets aggressively friendly. It’s the same strategy he’s used in every new situation where he’s not sure exactly what’s expected of him. Hell, it worked on the Benns in the first place, when Tyler showed up without a friend in the city, desperate to form ties with a new, better group of friends. 

He plops himself down next to Jamie on the bus to the airport, and wedges his way in across from Jordie once they’re in the air. 

“Cards?” Tyler dumps out the deck. 

“Sure.” 

Once a few of the other guys ask to be dealt in—Jamie included—and they’re all goofing off and fucking around, neither of them are giving him that suspicious side-eye any longer. Tyler finally allows himself exhale. Maybe they’ll be a little skittish with him for a bit, but nothing’s been damaged irreparably. 

Nothing, it turns out, is really damaged at all. 

The very next road trip the team decides to hit up a bar after dinner. They’ve been there for a while, and Tyler’s already feeling pleasantly buzzed and loose-limbed when Jamie puts a hand on his shoulder. 

“Are you coming?” He leans down to keep his voice low.

“Huh?” 

Jamie takes the drink out of Tyler’s hand and nods back to Jordie. He’s got his coat on, smiling warmly at the two of them. 

“Oh! Uh, yeah. Definitely.” 

He’s sure he looks a fool the way his eyes keep darting over to make sure they’re beside him as they walk. 

“What?” Jordie finally asks, chuckling.

“Nothing! I’m just walking,” he shrugs. 

“Okay, Seggy.” Jordie throws an arm around his shoulder and leads him the rest of the way.

This is one of the quieter clubs they’ve been to yet. It’s still busy, but Tyler doesn’t have lean close to hear Jordie when he talks about taking a pass at the room. Jamie doesn’t even bother splitting off this time, and Tyler watches as they retreat into the crowd. 

They don’t stray far; Jordie nods toward the bar, a few feet from Tyler, and Jamie licks his lips and nods. There’s an attractive guy two seats from Tyler’s left, fit with wavy dark hair and a small septum piercing that Tyler only notices when it catches the light. 

The Benns approach casually, Jordie wedging his way between the guy and his neighbor, Jamie right behind him with a hand on his back—keeping contact but maintaining distance. Jordie angles himself toward the man and nods when they make eye contact. 

“Hey, how are you?” It’s breezy, but Tyler can see Jordie leaning in. He watches the guy assess Jordie first, and then follow the arm back to where Jamie is observing. 

“Good, and yourselves?” 

“Not too bad.” Jordie glances back to his brother. “What are you having, babe?” 

“Whatever he is.” Jamie nods toward the tumbler on the bar, resting his other hand on the back of the guy’s chair. It’s boxed them into a threesome already and Tyler thinks even the densest person would be able to pick up on the signals they’re dropping. They’ve got it down to an art form. 

Jordie buys the round and distributes the glasses. “Cheers. To our new friend…” 

“Matt,” the guy offers. 

“Cheers, Matt.” 

Jamie takes too big a sip, some of it clinging to his lip. Tyler thinks it was intentional once Jordie reaches over to casually thumb it off. 

“And you two are?” 

“Phillip,” Jordie extends his hand, and Tyler’s not sure he heard that right. “This is my boyfriend, James.” Jamie has to let go of Jordie to offer his own. Matt smiles brightly at both of them and maybe lets his fingers linger longer than is strictly friendly. 

Tyler watches and listens in from his safe distance, hardly having to strain to listen in. Jordie is the one who talks most, keeping the conversation rolling between the three of them, but Jamie is the one being assertive with their intentions. He’s cordial with Matt, stands close, bats his lashes, and talks when it’s polite. But his hands won’t stay still, roaming everywhere he can reach—starting low on Jordie’s back, hooking a few fingers into the waist of his jeans and maneuvering him around. After a while, Tyler watches them drift lower, tucking into Jordie’s back pocket. 

The back of Jordie’s neck is getting redder, his words growing clipped as Jamie touches him. Matt is watching them as close as Tyler is at this point, and when Jamie knows their company has seen what his attentions are doing to Jordie, he grins filthily. 

“You should come hang out with us at our hotel. We’re staying just up the road,” Jamie adds casually. Tyler watches Matt look them up and down, first Jamie, then Jordie. He’d have to be dead to say no to that offer, and Tyler’s nearly ready to insert himself into the situation and accept on his behalf when Matt finally speaks up. 

“Yeah, that sounds great.” 

They finish up their drinks and start toward the exit, Jamie and Matt side by side, Jordie trailing a step behind. They’re halfway to the door when Jordie looks back and gives Tyler a small wave and a smile. 

He returns it for lack of a better option—though following them out like a lost puppy is ranked fairly high up there until he can talk himself out of it.

/ / /

Tyler can’t sleep— _again_. Though he’s not sure that he’s expecting to this time. If the first two times he’d watched them leave together with someone had been misunderstood circumstance, it was clear that last night was no accident.

The Benns hadn’t wanted Matt to know who they were, and more importantly that they were related. Tyler’s replayed that introduction over in his head enough times that he knows he didn’t hear incorrectly. Jordie said Jamie was his boyfriend. 

And he hadn’t invented the way Jamie’s hands roamed over Jordie’s body, possessive and teasing. Jamie was looking for a very specific reaction—a _boyfriend_ reaction. Even if Tyler misread the night in Columbus—how Jamie had touched and how Jordie had kissed—he wasn’t wrong about last night. 

Tyler drags himself out of bed, brushes his teeth and splashes water on his face. He looks manic in the mirror, his eyes swimming as much as his head. 

This isn’t something he can just ignore like last time. They had to have known he was there, that he was able to hear what they were saying. Tyler waits only long enough for the hour to become something decent before he’s marching down the hall to knock on Jamie’s door. 

Jordie answers in a t-shirt and boxers, toothbrush hanging precariously from his mouth. His hair is wet and wild, sticking up in all directions like he’s just scrubbed a towel through it and left it be. Tyler wants to comb it down for him. 

“Seggy,” Jordie tries to speak through a mouthful of foam, drippling some into his beard. “Whoops!” He ushers Tyler in and ducks back into the bathroom. 

Tyler carefully shuts the door behind himself, venturing toward the beds. Jamie’s sprawled on one of them, and while they’re both mussed, only his looks slept in. He’s got basketball shorts and a t-shirt on, hair damp as well, but combed neatly. 

Jamie sits up stiffly and shuts off the TV when he sees him. 

“Morning,” his smile is forced, but Tyler appreciates the gesture. He’s got butterflies in his stomach too. 

And no. Wait. This wasn’t a good idea. He can tell they’re anxious. He should just press rewind, excuse himself and head right back to his own room. He’s not that curious; he can live in the dark. It’s fine. 

“Here, you can sit,” Jamie tucks his legs underneath himself and waves vaguely at the bed. 

Tyler wonders if Matt slept here, or if he’d left after they were done ‘hanging out.’ The other bed is made, but the comforter is wrinkled and the pillows have been dumped to the floor. Jamie watches him look with a pinched expression as Tyler lowers himself deliberately to sit. 

“So, uh.” Tyler takes a breath. This would be easier if he’d woken up here, with them. If he knew for certain whether or not Jordie’s room has even been touched since he checked in, or if they’d decided to be economic and shower together this morning. It would be easier if he already knew the answers to the difficult questions he wants to ask. 

He hears the sink turn on and off, feels the mattress dip behind him when Jordie joins them. 

Tyler closes his eyes and wonders if this is how Matt felt, both of them looking at him. Probably not, he thinks. Matt wouldn’t know that Jamie’s wearing Jordie’s shorts right now because he likes how they fit better, or that Jordie probably brushed Jamie’s hair for him because Jamie thinks Jordie does a better job of it. He couldn’t know how special it is to be invited into the Benns’ secret, just-them world. And he couldn’t even begin to understand how good it feels to be important enough to Jamie and Jordie that they’d want him there. 

And Tyler won’t know the things Matt discovered last night if he can’t bring himself to speak. 

“I know you saw. Last night.” Jordie’s cautious when he speaks, “are you upset?” Tyler’s afraid to open his eyes and see Jamie’s face. 

“No. Not exactly, I guess.” Blindingly jealous perhaps, but not upset. 

“Are you uncomfortable?” Jamie’s more hesitant and his voice is what forces Tyler to look. He’s terrified—pink in the face in a bad way. Humiliated, almost. 

“No! No. I know that sounds—but I promise that I’m not.”

“Why?” 

There’s probably not a tactful way to admit that it makes sense to him. That Tyler’s thought about it before, _a lot_. And the only kind of uncomfortable it makes him isn’t bad. 

“I’m… _curious_ , I guess.” Tyler eyes a patch of pilled threads on the comforter. 

“Curious about what?” Jordie shifts a bit behind him. 

“How do you pick, _you know_ , who?” 

“We have a bit of a type,” Jordie cedes with a chuckle. Tyler would laugh too if he wasn’t so nervous; it seems apt that the Benns would be attracted to the same sort of person. 

“I heard you tell him that Jamie was your boyfriend.” 

“Yeah.”

“How come?” 

“Why do you think?” Jordie’s voice softens, some of the bravado fading. 

“Um, I thought, maybe it was because,” Tyler takes a deep breath and lets it go. It makes him kind of dizzy. “Maybe you and Jamie…” The rest of it dies on his tongue. He can hear them breathing as they wait, but he still can’t manage to get it out. He changes his tactic. “When did it start?”

“Which part?” 

“Both.” It’s as close as he can get to saying it. 

“Me and Jamie?” Jordie hums quietly and Tyler’s face flushes hot in an instant. “I don’t even really remember. Do you?” 

“High school,” Jamie answers. “But that wasn’t like, not out of the blue or anything.” 

“Yeah, it was before then too, just not like it became.” 

“I guess I don’t really remember either.” 

Tyler’s staring so hard at the comforter snags now that they feel like they’re moving on him, swirling into one indistinguishable blur. 

“And those other guys?”

“We didn’t start…that wasn’t until October.” 

He whips to look at Jordie at that. “This _past_ October?” 

“Yeah,” he sounds unsure. 

“I didn’t think it would be that recent, is all.” 

“Really? Why?”

“You were both so _good_ at it.” Jordie curls his lips into a proud smile. 

“It’s still pretty new. I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s nice. Like, guys we’ll only meet once, they don’t expect us to be separate for them, and we don’t have to care if they like one of us more than the other. They already know we’re a package going into it. No hurt feelings.”

“Not everyone might expect that,” the ball of lint gets the best of his attention again and Tyler picks at it with a fingernail, rolling it between his fingers. “ _I_ know you’re a package.” 

“This isn’t something that we want to do long term,” Jamie starts. 

“Oh.” Tyler’s stomach knots instantly, a sick wash of shame flashing through him. He shouldn’t have assumed.

“We couldn’t meet someone and tell them we’re Phillip and James forever, you know? And if it was someone we both really liked, we wouldn’t want to.” Jamie unfurls his legs and bumps Tyler’s knee. It gets him to look up again. “But it’s just that we worry, because even if there’s someone _we_ both like enough to want to do that, there’s no guarantee he would feel the same—want to be with both of us.” 

It’s not the same outright rejection Tyler thought he was hearing. 

“We didn’t even know it was something we might want until recently,” Jordie chimes in. “It sort of surprised us both.” 

“What did?” 

“You.” 

He can hear himself breathing, and he know that he must be because he’s not passing out, but it really feels like maybe his throat closed up and his lungs have collapsed the way that one word hits him. 

Jamie’s looking at him, waiting for Tyler to say something. The coherent thoughts aren’t coming. 

“We like you. We like that you like us together, but you're still friends with us separately. And, it seems sometimes like you get it? How important it is to us to have someone who can do that,” Jordie is subdued as he confesses as much. 

“I do,” Tyler finds his voice, though it’s still choked. “You're kind of like three people. Jamie, Jordie, and the Benns.” They both chuckle at that. “I like all of you.” 

“At first it was just, we thought it was fine, because um,” Jamie blushes. “Well, Jordie can do a pretty decent impression of you.” 

“Jamie can’t.” Jordie interrupts teasingly. 

“Hey, I tried, okay! I tried.” He sounds ready to push the issue—typical Benn brothers bickering, but Jamie lets it drop. “We _both_ tried. But it wasn’t going away, and we didn’t know how you’d react if you knew. It’s a pretty hard to thing to explain, if you can imagine. It wasn’t going to be worth losing you as our friend, so those guys—it started just, like a stopgap. Until we could get over you.” 

Hearing them say ‘we’ when talking about liking him makes Tyler’s insides go squishy. “Did it work?”

“No.” Jamie’s adamant. “Of course not. Not even a little. None of those guys are you. They can have tattoos and abs and scruff but… they can’t look at us like you do.” 

“How do I look at you?” Tyler’s almost breathless, leaning into Jamie as talks. He can feel Jordie scooting closer behind him, the warmth of his body radiating like a furnace. Tyler wouldn’t mind being thrown to the fire right now. 

“Dangerously,” Jordie’s breath is just as hot on the back of his neck. “Like you want the same things as us, but don’t know how to say it.” 

“There’s no good way to ask for something like that,” Tyler shivers when familiar hands find their way to his shoulders. 

“Sure there is,” Jordie continues. Tyler can’t see his face, but Jamie’s looking past him at his brother and Tyler doesn’t have to see to know they’re deciding something. “Will you kiss Jamie for me? Please?” Tyler’s whimper dies in this throat. 

Jamie wets his lips and looks just as flustered as Tyler feels. The hands on his shoulders stop kneading his muscles and start pushing him forward gently. It’s a hand off, the way Jamie catches Tyler when Jordie lets go. 

Jamie’s lips are plush against Tyler’s, parted slightly as he flirts his tongue over Tyler’s bottom lip. It’s better even than Tyler imagined it would be. He can feel both pairs of hands drifting over his front and back, settling finally on his shoulders, fingers laced. 

The easy control Jamie has gets sloppier when Tyler starts putting more into it, licking into Jamie’s mouth like it’s the only chance he’ll ever get to taste him properly. Jamie bites Tyler’s lip, sucking softly until he pulls off, letting him go with a raspy, wet sound. 

“Ty,” it’s a mash between awe and determination. He doesn’t continue until Tyler’s opening his eyes and blinking back at him. “Can you kiss my brother, too?” He’s already helping Tyler turn around the other way. Jordie looks worse off than Jamie even, his lips already pink as his cheeks, eyes huge and wide. 

Jordie holds him by the back of the neck for it, thumb rubbing into corded muscle as he nips his way into Tyler’s mouth. They taste like a different shade of the same flavor, but he’s never surprised anymore by how similar they are. Jordie bites the same as Jamie had, makes an only slightly gruffer noise when Tyler shows his eagerness. 

When Jordie breaks the kiss, he settles Tyler back to sitting. “See? It’s not hard to ask for what you want.” The silence stretches onward as they each touch him carefully—Jamie toying with Tyler’s fingers, Jordie threading through Tyler’s hair. “Do you want to try?” He exhales it more than anything. 

There are a million questions Tyler wants to ask, but most of them are dependent on the answer to only one. 

“And now you two?” He looks back at the lint fluff, watching them out of the corner of his eyes. “You two kiss?” There’s no hesitation in the way they move together, raising on their knees to meet somewhere just above him. He hears them before he can bring himself to look, but when he does, all he can think is that it’s like staring into the sun—too hot, too bright. His cock fills out fast, throbbing where it’s pressed between his thigh and the seam. “ _Oh_ ,” the rest of his thought dies right after it’s formed. 

They kiss like they’ve done it thousands of times before, Jamie’s hands moving just so, Jordie tilting his mouth just right. Jamie makes a tiny noise that has Jordie’s brow furrowing as he pushes harder into it. Tyler wants to protest when they finally stop and sit back, watching him carefully. 

“We like you, Ty. We think you’d fit here, if you wanted that. But…” Jordie twists his lips to the side. They're shiny from Jamie’s mouth. 

“But it has to be with the both of us. You’d have to _want_ both of us. Or we can’t,” Jamie finishes. “Is that—”

“Yes!” He blushes at his own enthusiasm. “Yeah, I mean. Yes. I do want that.” Tyler slides his leg until his thigh is flush with Jamie’s and reaches back to rest a hand on Jordie’s knee. He’s still uncomfortably hard, squirming his hips to try to and relieve the ache. He knows they can probably tell, but it’s their own fault for being so hot. 

Jordie gives him an amicable smile and leans in to kiss his cheek. 

“C’mon, we can’t skip team breakfast.”

/ / /

At breakfast, the Benns situate themselves on either side of Tyler, but though there’s nothing unusual about it, Tyler feels special.

The rest of the day is packed: travel that afternoon, practice once they arrive, and then checking in to the hotel. They’ve got a free day tomorrow so Eaks makes his rounds once they’re all at the hotel rounding up a group to check out this speakeasy-type bar downtown. 

Tyler’s about to decline when he sees Jamie and Jordie among the group waiting for the elevators, so he swallows the small bubble of disappointment and puts on a smile, tagging along. 

The place is cool, hidden in the basement of some theatre, but they’re far from the only large group there. The bartender whips Tyler up something with crushed ginger and mint and bourbon and he’s feeling pretty damned fancy in all honesty. 

He hangs close to Jamie and Jordie, but they don’t seem to want to let him too far from them either. Jordie keeps an arm along the back of Tyler’s chair and Jamie’s toes keep bumping his under the table. The rest of the guys are loud around them, but Tyler feels encased in the bubble of them. _Special_ , like he had at breakfast. 

It’s Jamie’s turn to grab the next round, but he comes back a few glasses short, setting down the tray on the table before squeezing himself between Tyler and his brother. 

He bumps companionably into Tyler shoulder, standing much closer than he needs to be heard. “Jordie and I were thinking of checking out this place a few blocks over. Interested?” 

Tyler well and truly thought that the place they were going to be ‘checking out’ was their own hotel room, but when Jordie veers left at the corner instead of right, Tyler’s heart drops a bit. 

The club isn’t as densely packed as some they’ve gone to, but the crowd is bustling for a Thursday night and Tyler allows himself to be toward to the bar. 

He accepts the whiskey sour Jamie hands him, popping the cherry into his mouth to hide the frown threatening to take over his face. 

“I’m gonna do a round,” Jordie juts his chin out at the dance floor and takes off with a friendly pat to Tyler’s back. 

Jamie makes a small sound of assent where he’s sipping his own drink and falls a step behind his brother. Tyler loses them in the dim light almost immediately. He should probably just go now, seek solace in the minibar in his hotel room instead of here. He really thought for a moment that he would be lucky enough to get what he wanted. That maybe through some miraculous force in the universe Jamie and Jordie might want that too. _Stupid_ , he chastises himself. 

He’ll give himself the while to finish his drink before he bails, he decides. Self-preservation is a thing he’s been working on and what better time than now to draw a line in the sand for himself. 

“Hey, you alone?” The voice in his ear is syrupy sweet, deep and heavy. 

“I’m not really—” he turns, ready to politely decline the offer of company, but Jamie’s the one grinning lecherously back at him. “Uh…” 

“Not alone?” Jamie finishes for him. He doesn’t sound like himself; there’s something leading in his voice. “Me either.” When he looks back over his shoulder, it stretches his neck into a long line that Tyler wants to press his lips against. 

Jordie slinks up behind Jamie with a warm sparkle to his eyes. “Hey, babe.” He does what Tyler wants to, kissing at where Jamie’s pulse is jumping under thin skin. 

“ _Oh_ ,” Tyler feels like he’s been punched in a good way, his palms already sweating as his dick thickens in his jeans. His brain is still trying to catch up from the complete 180 on the emotional spectrum. 

“Is there room for us here?” Jamie eyes the space beside Tyler, barely room for one of them to stand, but Tyler knows they’ll find a way to fold together and fit. 

“Yeah.” His voice is thin in his throat, but Jamie doesn’t seem phased, that confident ease Tyler’s seen on him before amplified. He rests a hand on Tyler’s thigh, holding his other arm out until Jordie steps into it. 

He touches Jamie like he owns him, sliding a foot between his brother’s and pushing his knee though Jamie’s legs. When Jamie leans back against him, he supports his weight easily. 

“What brings you here tonight?” Jordie’s hands wander along Jamie’s side, slipping under the hem of his t-shirt. 

“You,” he blurts. “I mean, you, too. You two.” Jamie squeezes his leg gently. 

“Us?” Jordie’s smile is coy. They’re good at this. Tyler’s seen them; he’s heard them even. But none of it prepared him for being on this side of it. 

“We saw you from over there,” Jamie looks off vaguely for a moment, then back with dark, intense eyes. “We both thought you looked a little lonely.” 

“Not anymore,” he manages. The Benns’ confidence actually puts him more at ease. He knows them well, probably only second to how well they know each other. There’s nothing actually intimidating about them, he tells himself. 

“Glad to hear it.” Jordie’s touch to Tyler’s back is casual, at first like he didn’t mean to, but then more intentional. 

“I’m, uh,” Tyler allows his body to spread out, knees brushing Jamie’s, arm resting against Jordie’s. He takes a sip of his drink and licks away the stray bead of liquid. “I—should I call you Phillip?” His face screws up with the question. It feels weird. 

“Huh?” 

“You told the other guy, and Jamie said… I thought maybe that was a part of the thing.” Maybe they liked pretending to be boyfriends and not brothers. It’s not something Tyler thought to ask about earlier. 

“Believe me,” Jamie gives a mischievous half-smile. “I don’t like moaning any name besides Jordie’s when he deserves to hear it.”

“Oh,” Tyler squeaks. Jordie inches the pads of his fingers up Tyler’s spine, bumping over each ridge until he’s shivering with goosebumps. 

“Why don’t you go ahead and finish up your drink and we can get out of here. See where the night goes?” 

Tyler has to stop himself from running back to the hotel, but he’s sure the Benns can sense his impatience with the way he’s taking long strides and pushing crosswalk buttons impatiently. 

The hall is quiet, and they hadn’t been at the second bar long enough that the team’s found their way back to the hotel yet. Still, Jamie’s room is the most isolated and Tyler definitely notices when they start guiding him that way. 

Jordie locks the door behind them as Jamie ushers Tyler toward the beds, but they’re both stepping into his space almost instantly. They box him in, but there’s nothing predatory about it. Jamie’s definitely more eager, digging his fingers into Tyler’s hips and tugging him forward to a bruising kiss. Jordie’s a solid presence against Tyler’s back, holding onto him overtop of Jamie’s hands, giving an amused hum when Jamie deepen the kiss. 

Jamie bites at his bottom lip before moving to scrape his teeth down Tyler’s jaw to his neck. The standing would be hard if not for Jordie there to hold him up. Tyler lets himself lean into it and watch as Jordie glides his hand up Jamie’s arm until he’s combing through the hair at his nape. 

“No marks, Jame. It’s the middle of the season.” Jamie whines against Tyler’s skin but pulls away anyhow.

“Fine. But later. I’m keeping count you know, all the ones I owe you.” He looks at Tyler with huge, dark eyes. “And you, if that’s okay.” 

Tyler doesn’t think he’d mind if Jamie wanted to mark him head to toe right now, but Jordie’s probably right it’s for the best. 

“Definitely okay.” 

“He thinks he’s so responsible,” Jamie teases at the hem of Tyler’s shirt, but he’s looking him past him at Jordie. “Meanwhile he’ll give you the beard burn of a lifetime and that’s completely fine.” 

“You like it,” Jordie laughs, hauling Jamie in to kiss, right next to the Tyler’s ear. The sounds of it have him canting his hips forward into Jamie, but Jordie’s hand on his waist tightens. He cranes his neck to watch instead, the way they trade off control—Jamie pushing first and then easing off and letting Jordie take over. 

“ _Jesus_.” Tyler could rub off to just the sight of it, he’s sure, but they both pick up on his frustration. 

Jamie breaks the kiss and turns to peck Tyler quickly on the lips, standing back on his heels after. 

“We both had a huge crush on you, you know? When you first got here.” He laughs easily, tugging at the bottom of Tyler’s shirt again, this time with the purpose of getting it off. “I mean, still do. But, _god_ , you were something. I swear you spent the whole of August shirtless and sweaty on our couch just to torture me.”

“He was so obvious,” Jordie reaches to help Jamie strip him. “Way more than me. He had no idea I was thinking the same.” 

“How’d you find out?” Tyler shivers when Jamie’s hands find his stomach, trailing over the newly exposed skin. 

“When he started to tease me. He’d, he’d try to sound like you sometimes when he was…” Jamie sighs softly, “when he’d touch me.” 

“Oh,” Tyler’s cock throbs in his jeans, hips bucking forward against nothing. 

“He still didn’t get it. I finally had to come out and tell him. Don’t know why he thought I was always trying to touch you if I didn’t.” Jordie’s beard is surprisingly soft against the back of his bare shoulder. His lips move against the base of Tyler’s neck. “You made really pretty sounds when I’d rub your shoulders. Drove me absolutely crazy. I thought about how I could get you make them in other ways, or how Jamie could and I’d get to watch. He’s really good with his mouth.” 

Tyler keens and Jordie sputters. “Yeah. Like that kind of sound.” 

“He’d try and rile me up, tell me all the stuff he thinks about the three of us doing together.”

“Do you want to know what my favorite is?” Jordie bites at the curve of Tyler’s jaw, just below his earlobe. “Do you want us to _show_ you?” 

He nods his head only enough for Jordie to feel it where he’s got his mouth pressed. Tyler can tell when he smiles, the smooth of his teeth dragging over hot skin. 

Jamie moves abruptly, darting to fish something out of his bag and toss it on the bed beside his brother. When he’s pressed close to Tyler’s front again, Jamie’s hands fall to his fly. 

Tyler’s so wrapped in the relief of the zipper opening, he doesn’t notice Jordie reaching from behind him to strip Jamie of his shirt. He has to stop messing with Tyler’s pants to allow it over his head, but Jamie barely misses a beat, tugging the too-tight denim down Tyler’s thighs. His boxer-briefs tangle in the friction and get pulled down too, allowing his cock to spring free finally. 

“Jamie’s been dying to show you this,” Jordie promises, wrapping one arm around Tyler’s middle to keep him securely held while the other helps Jamie push Tyler’s jeans lower. 

Jamie follows after them as he goes to his knees, letting Tyler step out of them before he’s tossing his clothes aside. 

Jordie’s still fully clothed behind him, the pass of soft cotton over his naked skin making Tyler squirm more. He can feel his ass snug up against where Jordie’s hard and he pushes back into it. He’s rewarded with a breathy growl in his ear. 

“You should watch him, Ty. He likes to look at you when he does it.” 

Tyler’s grateful for the fact that Jamie’s gripping his hips and Jordie’s holding his waist. He’s not sure how long his knees would hold without the support—especially not once Jordie reaches around to play with Jamie’s hair. 

He pushes it back from his forehead, chin hooked over Tyler’s shoulder to look down at his brother. It’s a tender touch at first, familiar, but once he’s got it all out of the way, Jordie holds on to a fistful of it and tips Jamie’s head back. 

Tyler’s cock juts out from the lean line of his body, red and angled just slightly to the right. Jamie blinks up at him with blown-dark pupils, eyes drifting casually to the left—where Jordie is watching him too. 

“C’mon Jamie, don’t get shy on us now,” he sounds fond. “You’re so good at this, babe. Show Tyler.” Jordie gives a little tug on his hair and Jamie leans in easily. 

He wets his lips and kisses the tip of Tyler’s dick, letting the precome smear over his bottom lip. He stares at Tyler when he licks it off, letting his tongue graze the head of his cock at the same time. 

“Jamie,” he sighs as his muscles twitch. 

Jordie bites down on Tyler’s shoulder the same time Jamie sucks the head in his mouth. It’s almost sensory overload, the nip of pain up high and the surge of pleasure in his gut. Jamie’s hands on Tyler’s hips hold him still as he takes him an inch deeper each time. Tyler can’t tell how much of it is Jamie in control and how much of it is Jordie, but they work in a tandem that has his toes curling in the carpeting. 

Jamie glances up at him with pleading eyes, a small, swallowed sound in his throat as he takes Tyler almost completely. 

“Tell him,” Jordie urges, his voice gravelly and low. “He likes hearing that he’s doing it right, that you like it.” 

“Oh my _God_ , Jamie,” Tyler exhales. His fingers curl into fists at his sides as his mind flits through all the places he wants to put them right now. “Your mouth. Jordie was right.” He allows an embarrassing noise he’d otherwise try to muffle slip out as evidence. “You’re really good at this.” 

The praise makes Jamie hum and Jordie has to squeeze him to keep him from choking Jamie when he bucks. 

“Let him take you all the way. He’s got to work up to it, but he can do it.” 

“Oh, fuck. Fuck!” He can patient, he can be. He _has_ to be. Jamie slowly leans forward, bit by bit, until the tip of his nose touches Tyler’s abs and he’s swallowing around him once, twice and pulling off fast to breath. His throat makes wet sounds as he regains himself and Tyler has to widen his stance to maintain balance just listening to him like that. “Jamie, oh my god. That was so good, please.” 

The rims of his eyes are watery as he smiles upward, proud. “Yeah?” 

“Don’t stop, please?” He finally lets himself reach, thumbing a spot of drool from the corner of Jamie’s mouth and petting absently at his cheek. 

“He’s not done. We’ve hardly started,” Jordie assures, nudging against Tyler’s cheek until he turns for a sloppy kiss. Jamie takes half his cock back down while Tyler isn’t looking and he bites Jordie lip harder than he means to. 

“Sorry— _oh_.” 

“Don’t worry, I understand. Believe me.” The visual flashes through Tyler’s mind, vivid and scorching—Jamie perfecting his technique on Jordie, Jordie’s kind praise and firm directives. “Jamie, hold him for a sec.” 

Tyler feels Jordie start to let him go and step back, but he can’t turn to see when Jamie starts grabbing his hips even harder. His hair sticks up all over, a sweat-damp patch from Jordie’s palm flopping down into his eyes. Tyler takes it upon himself to help, smoothing it back and out of the way, holding on gently. 

Jamie’s eyes gleam wickedly and he hollows his cheeks without warning, sucking hard and letting the O of his mouth slowly slide toward the tip. The noises Tyler makes are beyond him, babbling a helpless stream of prayers littered with Jamie’s name. 

When Jordie’s arm snakes around him again, it accompanied by a nudge of his knee between Tyler’s legs, forcing his feet apart. “Keep watching him, but don’t let him make you come yet.” 

“Why?” 

Lube-slick fingers glide between his ass cheeks, against his hole, rubbing softly and applying gentle pressure. The coil in Tyler’s belly gets suddenly tighter and he has to nudge Jamie off for a moment to keep from spilling everywhere already. 

“We both want to make you feel good.” Jordie nuzzles his face into the back of Tyler’s neck, the wiry hair of his beard making goosebumps rise over Tyler’s arms. “S’that okay?” 

“Ty—,” Jamie pouts up at him, eyes darting between Tyler’s face and his dick like he’s being kept from the thing he wants most. 

“Yeah, yeah, you can.” His mind is too fogged to answer them separately, but they both take his word for themselves, Jamie working his mouth back down Tyler’s shaft as Jordie presses one slick finger inside of him—a careful, constant push until he’s to the knuckle. 

Tyler’s abs jump and clench, muscles contracting in all kinds of strange ways he can’t control. His head lolls back onto Jordie’s shoulder and the next actual sound he’s aware of is his own voice— _laughing_.

Jordie slides his finger halfway out and in again, smiling into his skin. “You okay? Not ticklish, are you?” 

“No, I’m just—this is real, right? This is actually happening right now?” His grip on Jamie’s hair tightens involuntarily when Jamie’s throat vibrates with a laugh of his own. It feels pretty damned real, he has to admit. 

“Yeah, it is. Trust me, we feel the same.” Jordie twists his fingers and tugs at the rim of Tyler’s hole, quieting his laugh with an abrupt gasp. “Can’t believe how hot you are,” he crooks his finger and glides in, dragging over the bump of Tyler’s prostate as he does. 

Tyler knees finally give, but Jordie and Jamie hold him up until he can get his bearings. Jordie doesn’t let up though, rocking the pad of his finger against the spot until Tyler’s a whimpering mess. He lets his chin flop to his chest, willing his eyes open to look at Jamie again. He’s still staring back, enthralled as ever. 

His lips are bright red now, plump where they’ve been tucked against his teeth. He’s straining the front of his own jeans and it must be painful, still confined like that. 

Jordie works a second finger inside him and uses both to stroke over him in alternating pressure. He pushes hard by surprise and Tyler can feel the dribble of precome burst onto Jamie’s tongue. Jamie laps it up like he’s starved for it. 

“How long do I have to wait? He’s really good at this.” The combination of the both of them right now is already winding him up tight, his balls drawing up toward his body. 

“Can Jamie still fuck you after?” He scissors his fingers carefully and starts thrusting again. 

“Yes,” Tyler rolls his hips at the idea of it, pushing forward first into Jamie’s mouth and then back against Jordie’s fingers. “He can, he definitely can.” 

“Come whenever you want.” Jordie kisses along his spine and presses a third finger inside him, fucking in and out against his prostate like he’s got a map to it. “Jamie’s not small though, so hold still. Let me do this right.” Tyler hadn’t noticed he was still rocking his hips between them until Jordie tells him so. It’s an effort to keep from moving, but Jamie jumps on the fact that Tyler’s close, bobbing his head faster. 

“Jame,” it sounds wrung out of him, breathy and tight. Tyler’s toes fan out and dig in, his thighs trembling from holding himself up. “I’m—I’m gonna,” he pats Jamie’s head in a way he hopes communicates something, but Jamie doesn’t pull off. 

Jordie leans over him again to watch, pumping his fingers steadily in a way that’s only meant to encourage. 

Tyler comes with a full-bodied shudder, shutting his eyes so hard he sees stars behind his eyelids, clamping down on Jordie’s fingers in deep pulses that only make him shoot harder. Jamie swallows all he can, pulling back to breathe just as Jordie works down into his prostate again. Another spatter of cum lands on Jamie’s lips before Tyler’s finally spent, sagging his weight back into Jordie when Jamie starts to let him go. 

He licks his lips clean and sits back onto his heels, hands falling to his own fly. “Jordie? Now?” Jamie’s voice is deeper than Tyler’s ever heard it, but there’s that same shy cadence he’d recognize blindfolded in the dark. 

Jordie stills his fingers when he kisses up Tyler’s neck. “You want Jamie to fuck you? He’s good at that, too.”

Tyler _does_ want that, but he also can’t help but notice Jordie’s still dressed, not volunteering himself for any of this. “What about you?” 

“You want me to fuck you?” Jordie asks, and Jamie makes an almost inaudible sound of frustration. Tyler reaches sightlessly in reassurance. 

“What are you going to do while Jamie’s…” 

“I’ll be right there next to you both, don’t worry.” Jordie seems more than pleased with that arrangement so Tyler doesn’t press the issue, choosing instead to beckon Jamie, helping him to his feet. 

When they kiss, Jamie’s mouth tastes like Tyler and his lips feel fat from use. Tyler gasps into it when Jordie starts easing his fingers out. 

“Sorry, I’ve got to, here.” Jordie guides both of them backward toward the bed, laying Tyler down. 

Jamie’s managed to get his pants unbuckled but not much more than that before he’s collapsing down on top of Tyler across the mattress. Jordie assists, reaching between them to finish the zipper and pull everything off the rest of the way. It feels right like this, having both of them here—the Benns still being Benns, helping each other where they can, Tyler in the thick of it. 

Jordie let them kiss while he stumbles his way around the room, undressing down to nothing and grabbing something else before kneeling at their sides. Tyler wants to watch the two of them parade around naked a while. Maybe he’ll ask for that sometime. 

They’re both uncut, but don’t look all that similar besides. Jamie’s pubes are dark and trimmed short, thick cock jutting out from his body, but hanging low with weight. Jordie wasn’t kidding about Jamie’s size, and Tyler’s not regretting the three-finger prep now. Jordie’s longer than Jamie, but moderately slimmer. The hair on his thighs bleeds up into an auburn next of hair that reminds Tyler of his beard, curly and bushy. He likes the contrast of them as much as the similarities sometimes. 

“Jamie, sit back,” Jordie pats his ass impatiently, but Jamie doesn’t stop kissing to move. “C’mon. I can’t reach you.” 

Jamie gives an impatient growl but sits back away from where he’s pancaked himself to Tyler’s body, seemingly content to have just rubbed off on him like that. 

Jordie reaches under him to roll the condom on, planting a soft kiss between Jamie’s shoulder blades as he does. When he drops back next to Tyler, it’s close enough that his dick lands on Tyler’s abs, and Jordie gives him a lewd smile, waggling his eyebrows. 

“Dork,” Tyler means to sound playful, but Jamie takes the opportunity to spread his knees and bump the head of his dick against Tyler’s inner thigh. It’s mostly a breathy gasp after that. 

“We’ve been thinking about this for so long,” Jordie hums, leaning in to kiss before pulling back at the last second, then ducking in and then doing it again—a teasing dance that has Tyler whining and grabbing for him. 

“Same,” Tyler exhales sharply when Jordie bites his bottom lip. 

“You ready?” Jamie sounds eager, and Tyler has to agree with him. 

“Yeah, come on.” 

Jordie wraps a hand behind Tyler’s knee and pulls it toward him, opening him up for Jamie to position himself. Tyler’s had threesomes before—of _course_ he has—but never where two of the participants knew each other’s movements before they even knew their own. It’s a seamless, wordless flow of motion that gets Tyler arranged just how they want him before Jamie’s lining up and sliding in. 

He’s still loose from Jordie’s prep and his muscles lax from his orgasm, but Jamie takes his time, fucking in slowly and methodically. 

“Oh God,” Jamie’s pitch goes high at the end, and just as slowly as Jamie’s moving, Jordie is rocking his hips, rubbing himself against the topography of Tyler’s abdominal muscles. They’re both looking at him, heavy-lidded but familiar eyes. He’s never had anyone look at him before like they are now. Tyler pinches his eyes shut tight and grabs blindly for both of them—one hand landing on Jamie’s shoulder, the other on Jordie’s cock. 

The kisses he’s been pressing into Tyler’s shoulder become a bite when Tyler’s fingers close around him. Jordie doesn’t move until Jamie does though, and when his brother starts fucking into Tyler at an agonizingly crawling speed, Jordie does the same to his fist. 

“ _Fuck_ , yeah, Ty,” Jordie’s face shoves hard into Tyler’s neck, rubbing his beard over the bites. “Like that.” Tyler hasn’t even really moved yet, but Jordie’s already panting. He wants to help a little more than he is at the moment, though. 

“Like what?” 

“Here,” Jamie stills for a second, wrapping his hand over top of Tyler’s. “He likes it when it’s like…” Jamie trails off, but he starts moving Tyler’s hand for him, concentrating quick, twisting motions at the head of his dick, sliding his foreskin up and back. Jordie shoves his hips into it with an undignified sound. 

Tyler’s got the hang of it after a bit, but he likes Jamie helping. He strokes Jordie faster when Jamie starts to thrust a little more enthusiastically and gets the leg Jordie’s not holding up around Jamie’s waist to encourage him. 

His dick jerks occasionally when Jamie hits his prostate, and it feels good even if he’s already come. The sounds are involuntary and for every one Tyler lets slip out, Jordie grunts in answer against his ear. Jamie’s the quiet one, but Tyler isn’t too surprised by that. 

Tyler can feel his thighs shaking with effort as Jamie’s pistons his body, but he’s nothing but soft sounds and breathy gasps when he opens his mouth. The obscene sound of skin against skin and the glossy noise of Tyler’s slick hand on Jordie are both nearly louder than he is. 

When Jordie gets close, he grabs on to Tyler’s ribcage, pushing his fingers in hard. “Tyler, c’mere.” It’s a desperate kiss—he knits his brow and smashes their lips together. Tyler swallows down the throaty sound Jordie makes before he feels him come splash hot across his hand and belly. 

Tyler jerks him through it until Jordie is wiggling and breaking the kiss with a pained sound. He pants against Tyler’s sweaty skin, immobile—in sharp contrast now to Jamie, fucking Tyler hard and fast. 

He’s watching the two of them with determined eyes, face pinched as he tries to concentrate. His arms are shaking now too, and Tyler isn’t surprised when his elbows give and Jamie’s falling against him, torso to torso. 

He smashes his sweaty forehead into Tyler’s shoulder, hips still snapping rhythmically. Tyler can’t see his face now, but he can see Jordie—the way he moves, folds a firm hand on Jamie’s neck, rearranges to press his mouth close to his brother’s ear. 

“Come on, babe. Next time I’ll fuck you while you do this? You’ll feel me pushing you into him. S’that sound good?” Jamie makes a strangled sound. “Look at me, Jame.” 

He turns his head with tremendous effort and Jordie smiles at him, affectionate and exposed. Tyler’s seen them look at each other a million times before, thought he’d seen every possible expression in their relationship. But this is something else entirely—deep and unguarded. _Private_. Something that used to be just for the two of them, but now… 

Jordie glances to where Tyler’s watching them, the look never once wavering. He smiles before going back to his brother. “Come for us, Jamie.”

Jamie’s body pitches forward with a grunt, back stiffening as he rocks into Tyler with aborted jerks of his hips. Tyler clings to him, welcoming the heavy weight as Jamie gradually goes slack. 

Jordie follows him down, pillowing his head on Tyler’s other shoulder until Jamie opens his eyes. 

“S’that good?” Jordie brushes a sweaty lock of Jamie’s hair behind his ear. Tyler feels him nod. “And you?” Jordie looks up at him. 

“Yeah,” it feels like a huge understatement—Tyler feels way better than good. He feels like he’s been twisted up and shaken out and hung up to dry. Jordie looks like he gets it though, pushing up with his toes kiss Tyler again. 

His beard is a welcome prickling against Tyler’s chin, and he didn’t expect that it would something so familiar already, but he likes that even if he never opened his eyes, he’d know exactly which of them is was. 

The kiss breaks abruptly and Tyler’s lifting his head to chase it when he realizes it’s because Jamie’s pulling on Jordie’s hair. 

“Okay, okay. Geez.” 

Tyler leans back and curls an arm around each of their backs, listening to the two of them kiss calmly—all of the frantic energy from earlier settling syrupy-thick into their muscles. 

When Jamie’s finally soft enough he’s slipping out, they’re forced to move and clean up, though Jordie makes his protestations known. 

“I’m not even that messy,” he groans into the comforter. 

Jamie rolls his eyes and beckons Tyler closer. He smears his hand through the come still sticking to his belly and slaps Jordie’s ass with it. 

“Yes you are. You’ve got jizz on your ass.” 

“Goddamn it, Jamie!” Jordie kicks out his leg but misses Jamie by a few inches. Tyler snorts a laugh and goes quick when Jamie hustles him into the bathroom. He can hear the mattress creak when Jordie hefts himself out of bed to follow. He gives Jamie a pointed look and snatches the washcloth from his hand to wipe himself down. 

It’s exactly the kind of playful bickering Tyler’s used to with them, but this time it’s different. This time they feel like they’re his. 

Jordie’s already under the covers in the spare bed when Jamie and Tyler mosey back in. 

Tyler doesn’t know if he’s supposed to leave now or if he’s supposed to stick around. He doesn’t want to assume wrong, so he takes his time extricating his underwear from his discarded jeans, smoothing them out carefully before pulling them on one leg at a time. 

Jamie’s already thrown a pair of boxers on—a pair that Tyler thinks might have been Jordie’s—and is flipping the covers back to wedge his way in by the window. 

There’s certainly still plenty of room for him; he eyes the empty spot on Jordie’s other side. 

“Segs! You’re molasses! Get over here already,” Jordie grumps, flipping his wrist in a sloppy come-here gesture. The second Tyler’s lying down, Jordie’s folding around him, arms around his middle, leg thrown over his. “You’re safer on this side, Jamie kicks.” 

“Yeah, well, Jordie snores, so,” Jamie clicks off the bedside lamp and plunges the room into darkness. 

The quiet stretches out, endless in the tiny room. Tyler isn’t sure how long they’ve let it sit when he hears Jamie’s deep, even breathing. He turns over his shoulder and is surprised to see Jordie looking back him. 

“Jamie’s asleep?” He keeps his voice quiet. 

“Yeah. Tuckered himself out, poor little dude. Can’t keep him awake after sex to save his life,” Jordie teases, his arms closing a little tighter around Tyler as he speaks. 

The silence creeps in again and Tyler’s just about to shut his eyes and make an actual attempt at sleeping as well when Jordie speaks again. 

“Ty?” 

“Yeah?”

“We both really like you. A _lot_. For a while now, honestly.” The hairs on his upper lip tickle Tyler’s neck when he talks. “I guess I don’t really know how long you wanted to do this, but. If you’re worried that this was going to be like, just one of those guys? It’s not. Not to us.” 

Jordie’s grip loosens when Tyler makes an attempt to roll over, and he gives him the space to turn and look Jordie in the eye. 

“Not to me, either. And I don’t want this to have an expiration date on it or something. I like you both, too. A lot. And I’ll be here for as long as you guys want me.” 

“You’d want it to be like this? You and the two of us?” 

“Well, yeah.”

“You wouldn’t, uh,” Jordie clears his throat. As Tyler’s eyes have adjusted to the dark, he’s able to recognize that sentimental expression on Jordie’s face—the one he only ever wears in private. “You wouldn’t decide to choose?” 

“Choose what?” Tyler’s eyes go wide. “Choose _between_ you?!” Jordie’s silence is enough of an answer. “I couldn’t! This is always how I wanted it to be, how I imagined it even—way before I went with you two to the bar. I wouldn’t want to have one if I couldn’t have both. That’s not even how you guys work! Like, how could anybody pick!”

Jordie shushes him with a kiss, a long press of lips that settles Tyler’s heartrate. “Yeah,” he sighs against Tyler’s mouth. “We knew you were special.”

/ / /

Tyler’s alone at the bar sipping the last of his rum and coke when a hand on his hip surprises him. He turns the wrong way at first, finding only an empty stool, but looking to his left he’s face to face with huge brown eyes and a pleasant smile.

“So you _are_ as cute up close as you seemed from across the room.” Even his voice is gentle as he speaks loudly over the music. He nods down at the glass in Tyler’s hand, filled mostly with melting ice now. “Can I buy you another?” 

“Sure, but I should let you know. My boyfriend just stepped away to use the bathroom. He’ll be back any second now.” 

“Boyfriend, huh? Is he cute, too?” He gestures to the bartender and points to Tyler’s empty glass, holding up three fingers. 

“Very.” 

The barstool on Tyler’s other side bumps him as Jordie slides back into his seat. “I’m back! What’d I miss?” 

“Oh, he’s _very_ cute,” the hot breath in Tyler’s ear makes him shiver. “I bet you two look really hot together.” 

Their drinks clack down on the bar in front of them and Jordie grabs one, sitting back with a smile to watch Tyler squirm. 

“You think he would let me watch you two?” 

“Jamie,” he can’t help how he whines, shrugging up his shoulder when he feels a tongue tracing the shell of his ear. Jamie laughs quietly and pulls back to grab his drink. 

“Look, babe. You made him all pink,” Jordie nudges Tyler’s foot and looks past him at his brother. 

“That’s not a challenge,” Jamie lets his hand slip down to pinch Tyler’s ass before patting the spot in apology. 

“Oh, please,” Tyler sulks. “You were a tomato last week when Jordie hit on you.” 

“Okay, but that wasn’t fair. He wasn’t actually hitting on me. You couldn’t hear what he was whispering, but it was obscene.” 

“You liked it,” Jordie preens. 

“Aww, now you’re pink, too!” Tyler throws an arm around Jamie’s shoulder and plants a few kisses on his scrunched-up face. “It’s okay,” he lowers his voice in Jamie’s ear. “I know your brother’s got a filthy mouth.” 

“He does,” Jamie pouts, looping his arm around Tyler’s waist. 

Jordie sips his drink and watches them, smug smile on his face. “Tell you what. Why don’t we finish these up, close out, and you let me take you boys home and I can put my money where my filthy mouth is, yeah?” 

Jordie’s true to his word, but Tyler gets a few good licks in of his own—so to speak. 

The matching tattoos on their forearms are healed but still sensitive and new. He’s come to appreciate the dorkiness, unique to them, and the bold black lines are perfect for tracing with his tongue. Jordie’s more sensitive than Jamie, and Tyler’s rendered him speechless before—sneaking in to kiss the ink while he’s balanced palms to the bed, fucking into Jamie with controlled strength. 

This time Tyler waits until Jordie’s got Jamie halfway down his throat, pinning his hips with his hands. He licks a stripe up the delicate area and grins when Jordie’s groan gets Jamie bucking. It’s always like this now—two of them working in tandem to take the other apart, trading off and swapping out in different arrangements. It seems like it’s always been this way sometimes, like Tyler’s always had a place here. 

He doesn’t feel like the third Benn brother; the guys on the team call him that occasionally because they’ve taken to traveling as a pack—even more now than before. But Tyler knows better than that. Jamie and Jordie have a dynamic as brothers that Tyler couldn’t ever crack his way into—wouldn’t _want_ to. 

“Why didn’t you get the tattoos before?” He’d asked them when they’d first come home and the skin was still tender and pink and glossy under the wrap. 

“I mean, it’s kind of hard to pretend someone’s your boyfriend when you’re advertising that they’re not,” Jordie had cuddled up next to him on the couch. Jamie had flopped down on the other side. 

“But then why now?” 

“Because you don’t mind.” Jamie’d made it sound like the answer was obvious. “You know who we are and you still love us. It’s not like that’s gonna change, right?”

Tyler’s place with them is not the same as their place with each other, but it shouldn’t be. He doesn’t need to be ‘the third brother’ to know he’s just as important to them. His place is different, but it is equally special, and things are perfect exactly how they are.

“Nope. Never gonna change.”


End file.
